Freitag, 30. Januar 2015

Im Elysium

Machwerk R.W. Aristoquakes
Teil 31 - 36
- Im Elysium -

Nach Helena war Thetis dran.
Sie erzählte ganz spontan,
Um die andern zu beglücken,
Was sie im Panchatantra fand,
Wo es aufgeschrieben stand,
Von Froschritt auf dem Schlangenrücken.


The Frogs that Rode Snakeback
The Panchatantra, circa 200 BC



Bear even foes upon your back;
When fortune clogs
Your path, endure. The great black snake
Slew many frogs.


There was once an elderly black snake in a certain spot, and his name was Slow-Poison. He considered the situation from this point of view: "How in the world can I get along without overtaxing my energies?" Then he went to a pond containing many frogs, and behaved as if very dejected.

As he waited thus, a frog came to the edge of the water and asked: "Uncle, why don't you bustle about today for food as usual ?"

"My dear friend," said Slow-Poison, "I am afflicted. Why should I wish for food? For this evening, as I was bustling about for food, I saw a frog and made ready to catch him. But he saw me and, fearing death, he escaped among some Brahmans intent upon holy recitation, nor did I perceive which way he went. But in the water at the edge of the pond was the great toe of a Brahman boy, and stupidly deceived by its resemblance to a frog, I bit it, and the boy died immediately. Then the sorrowing father cursed me in these terms: 'Monster! Since you bit my harmless son, you shall for this sin become a vehicle for frogs, and shall subsist on whatever they choose to allow you.' Consequently, I have come here to serve as your vehicle."
Now the frog reported this to all the others. And every last one of them, in extreme delight, went and reported to the frog-king, whose name was Water- Foot. He in turn, accompanied by his counselors, rose hurriedly from the pond for he thought it an extraordinary occurrence and climbed upon Slow- Poison's hood. The others also, in order of age, climbed on his back. Yet others, finding no vacant spot, hopped along behind the snake. Now Slow- Poison, with an eye to making his living, showed them fancy turns in great variety. And Water-Foot, enjoying contact with his body, said to him:
I'd rather ride Slow-Poison than
The finest horse I've seen,
Or elephant, or chariot,
Or man-borne palanquin.

The next day, Slow-Poison was wily enough to move very slowly. So Water-Foot said: "My dear Slow-Poison, why don't you carry us nicely, as you did before?"
And Slow-Poison said: "O King, I have no carrying power today because of lack of food." "My dear fellow," said the king, "eat the plebeian frogs."

When Slow-Poison heard this, he quivered with joy in every member and made haste to say: "Why, that is a part of the curse laid on me by the Brahman. For that reason I am greatly pleased at your command." So he ate frogs uninterruptedly, and in a very few days he grew strong. And with delight and inner laughter he said:
The trick was good. All sorts of frogs
Within my power have passed.
The only question that remains,
Is: How long will they last?


Water-Foot, for his part, was befooled by Slow-Poison's plausibility's, and did not notice a thing.
At this moment another black snake, a tremendous fellow, arrived on the scene. And being amazed at the sight of Slow-Poison used as a vehicle by frogs, he said: "Partner, they are our natural food, yet they use you as a vehicle. This is repellent." And Slow-Poison said:
I know I should not carry frogs;
I have it well in mind;
But I am marking time, as did
The Brahman butter-blind.

"How was that?" asked the snake. And Slow-Poison told the story of
THE BUTTER-BLINDED BRAHMAN



Video


***
wird fortgesetzt

Keine Kommentare:

Zur Einstimmung

Bei dem hier unter dem Pseudonym R.W. Aristoquakes virtuell zur Veröffentlichung gebrachten, mehr als einhundertfünfzigtausend Doppelverszeilen umfassenden und mit über 15.000 Zeichnungen versehenen Epos handelt es sich um die umfangreichste Nacherzählung des Homer zugeschriebenen Kriegsberichtes, die jemals niedergeschrieben wurde und nach Auffassung des Autors, um das wichtigste literarische Werk der Neuzeit überhaupt.

Unter dem oben abgedruckten Titel veröffentlicht der noch unbekannte Schriftsteller an dieser Stelle in den nächsten fünf Jahren sein als Fortsetzungeerzählung entstandenes Mammutmachwerk über den antiken Tierkrieg und dessen Folgen für die Menschheit.

Das über zweitausend Jahre alte homerische Epillion, das im Original nur etwa 300 Verszeilen umfasst, wurde von R.W. A., der zehn Jahre lang daran gearbeitet hat, zu einem Mammutwerk aufgebläht, das die Batrachomyomachia mit der Ilias und der Bibel verbindet.

Diese Verknüpfung der drei wichtigsten Werke der abendländischen Literatur, die in etwa zur gleichen Zeit entstanden sind, dient dem Autor dazu, seine religionsgeschichtliche These zu untermauern, in der er den Frosch als Ursprungsgottheit darstellt und behauptet, dass die Götter der Neuzeit nichts anderes sind als die konsequente Weiterentwicklung der ägyptischen Froschgötter.